Optus CEO is no-where as network crashes: Meet Kelly Bayer Rosmarin – the woman who runs the telco – as she vanishes as network crashes affecting 10 million people

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin was missing in action after the Singapore-owned telco crashed – only to finally break cover almost seven hours after the outage was first reported to admit they still had not identified the source of the problem. 

The embattled CEO was dodging calls from government ministers after the Optus network crashed on Wednesday morning, cutting off phone calls, texts and internet access for 10 million customers and impacting hospitals, banks and trains which use their network. 

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said she had been unable to get answers from Optus on the outage until the corporate giant finally released an update hours later.

And telecoms minister Michelle Rowland slammed the telco for not getting on the front foot by addressing the issue publicly.

‘Customers want to know what is going on and I would urge Optus to get that information out to any channels that are possible and to do that as a priority,’ she said.

But shortly after 10.30am Ms Rosmarin rang in to ABC Sydney over WhatsApp because Optus was down. 

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin was missing in action for almost six hours as the Singapore-owned telco faces another massive crisis since she took the reins during the pandemic

Optus network crashed on Wednesday, cutting off phone calls, texts and internet access for 10 million customers

She apologised for the outage but admitted the network had not yet established the ‘root cause’ of the problem. 

‘Unfortunately, I don’t have more information to give at this stage. We have had issues since 4am. 

‘The team has tried a number of parts of restoration and so far we have not had the results that we have hoped for,’ Ms Rosmarin said.

She insisted they were ‘pursuing every avenue to get everybody back online as soon as possible’.

But she said it is ‘highly unlikely’ this outage is the result of a hack.

‘Our systems are actually very stable, we provide great coverage to our customers, this is a very rare occurrence,’ she said.

Her intervention came after Optus issued a terse statement admitting an issue and apologising for the ‘inconvenience’.

‘Optus is aware of an issue that may be impacting some of our mobile and internet customers,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We are currently working to identify the cause and apologise for any inconvenience. In case of an emergency, customers can still call 000.’

Ms Rosmarin’s last update on social media was six months ago when the former Football Australia board director posted a link to her interview with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. 

Mother-of two Ms Rosmarin, 46, landed the top job in April 2020 after a year as deputy CEO despite no telco experience during her 14 years with Commonwealth Bank.

Mother of two Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, 46, lives in wealthy Vaucluse in Sydney’s east with CBA executive husband Rodney

They also sold their second home, a sprawling 1915 Rose Manor in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands for $4million in August last year after a $400,000 renovation 

She was parachuted onto the Football Australia board after serving as then-chairman Sir Frank Lowy’s personal banker, and soared through the ranks of the CBA.

The science graduate, who grew up in South Africa and now lives in wealthy Vaucluse in Sydney’s east with CBA executive husband Rodney, earned a reputation at the bank as a disruptor who could ‘ruffle feathers’.

Her family moved into their $15million 1920s Vaucluse mansion overlooking Sydney Harbour in May 2021 after selling a smaller, more modern home nearby for $7.75million.

They also sold their second home, a sprawling 1915 Rose Manor in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands for $4million in August last year after a $400,000 renovation.

She took over Optus just as the Covid pandemic began but faced the biggest crisis the company had ever suffered when a massive hack a year ago stole and exposed personal details of up to 10 million customers.

The furious backlash saw analysts, customers and commentators demand her sacking at the time but she managed to survive the outrage.

At the time she was credited with coming forward and taking ownership of the problem personally with a series of video messages to customers.

‘The first 12 to 24 hours is critical in these crisis,’ said one PR specialist. ‘She came out on the front foot in that time, which was good.’

But she will now face similar calls to quit after this latest outage left millions stranded for hours – without any sign of the CEO.

Questions have also been asked about her various roles on the side in addition to her demanding Optus job, with seats on the board of several other different companies.

Pictured are where Optus users have reported the network blackout

Her LinkedIn profile admits she is still currently a non-executive director of digital advertising company REA Group and also of Indian-owned telco Airtel Africa.

She was also still a non-executive director of Afterpay rival Openpay for almost two year after she became Optus CEO until finally quitting in January 2022.

At the time of last year’s data hack, some critics asked if the Optus CEO job had her full attention.

In the wake of the 2022 data leak, she dismissed calls for stiffer European-style penalties for companies who fail to protect their customer’s personal details.

‘Look, honestly I’m not sure what penalties benefit anybody,’ she said at the time.

‘I think what I can say is Optus is doing absolutely everything possible to be transparent, to be on the front foot. 

‘We’re communicating to every customer individually about which specific fields of theirs may have been accessed and we’re working through that.’

The company is now facing a class action over the data breach. 

Angry customers have led the backlash against the CEO online, with some demanding she steps down or be fired over this fresh debacle.

‘Under this current Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, which started 1 April 2020 (that date says a lot, April fools) there have been more issues than the last 20 years,’ posted one on X.

‘Rot starts at the top… time for a change and clean out of a number of others. They take and give nothing.’

Another added: ‘Can someone do a welfare check on Kelly Bayer Rosmarin…she’s everywhere when there is a woke box to tick but nowhere when there is an Optus outages, cyber events or price hikes.’